There came a time in Mike Gorman’s childhood, when he was growing up in Dorchester, that he had to make a decision on whether he wanted to play basketball or hockey. As he became fond of the Celtics, he chose the former. But he soon learned that there wouldn’t be much of a playing career.

“I actually had a promising career until they discovered I had no left hand, and it went downhill from there,” Gorman joked.

But it still led him on a path to a long career in basketball, of course, eventually as the voice of the Celtics for 43 seasons. On Sunday, Gorman sat on a stool at midcourt at TD Garden reflecting on a broadcasting run that made him an adored legend in Boston. He got emotional, holding back tears, during a special halftime ceremony that honored him on the day of his final regular season game.

“I never thought I would end up here, that’s for sure,” Gorman said.

Gorman – who will still call first round playoff games before his retirement – was showered with love in his farewell game. He received two standing ovations in the first quarter. The first came after a video tribute that included heartfelt messages from Danny Ainge, Brad Stevens, Doc Rivers, Joe Mazzulla and TNT’s “Inside the NBA” crew. The second came after a well-done tribute video that included highlights of some of Gorman’s best calls over the years.

At halftime, he was honored with some gifts before he sat down with his broadcast partner, Brian Scalabrine, to chat about his career. He got choked up as he reflected on his relationship with the late Tommy Heinsohn, who he formed a legendary broadcasting partnership with.

“I will get misty if I try to talk about Tom. I think of him every day. I just—” Gorman said before he broke away.

Gorman credited Heinsohn with his broadcasting style after the two shared an interesting moment before their first game together.

“Tommy walks in and he’s got a cigarette going and he goes, ‘What’s all this blank?’” Gorman recalled. “And I said, ‘Those are my notes.’ And he said, ‘Not anymore.’ And he reaches out and he crumples a ball and throws them off the balcony. I’m looking at this guy and I’m like what the, you know? And he looked me right in the eye said, ‘We don’t need those. We’re going to talk about what we see out there.’

“We did for 39 years.”

Forty-three years on, Gorman will retire as an icon in Boston. He held back tears again as he left the Garden crowd with some parting words.

“You know that song from Cheers where they say you want to go where everybody knows your name? That was the TD Garden for me,” Gorman said. “It’s a place I could go and everybody knew my name and the relationships I’ve been able to develop with everybody who works in this building, not opposing teams but everybody who works in this building has just been, that’s the biggest part of it for me.”

Gorman then had one final message, which was greeted with another standing ovation.

“To the team, I just want to say, go win this thing, will you please? Just go win it,” Gorman said.

Respect earned

Wizards coach Brian Keefe, in a classy gesture, said some words about Gorman before taking any questions in his pregame press conference. Keefe is a native of Winchester and grew up listening to Gorman call Celtics games in the 1980s.

“This guy left a tremendous mark on me,” Keefe said. “I know they’re celebrating him here today. I just wanted to acknowledge him and what he’s meant to this community because I’m part of that community. …

“I grew up watching the team in the 80s. (Larry) Bird, (Kevin) McHale, (Robert) Parish. Him with Tommy. Those are things that are ingrained in your memory, and hearing some of those calls that he made and some of those big games, those things will live forever for me.

“If you’re from here, you know Mike Gorman and you know he’s about as classy as it comes, too.”

Mazzulla, a native of Rhode Island, similarly grew up watching Celtics games but developed an even greater respect for Gorman since becoming a coach in the organization.

“Just in the back of the plane my first couple of years, I would always walk back there, we would have certain conversations, just listening to his insight, listening to his wisdom,” Mazzulla said. “I think just his humility, his ability to just connect with different people and then just being a voice of the team. He has a distinct voice that whether it’s on TV or in person, it sounds the same all the time. So, honored to get to know him and honored to be a part of his last few days here with the Celtics.”

Tip-ins

The Celtics will not know their first-round playoff opponent until Friday night, when the No. 8 seed will be determined in the play-in game. The 76ers finished as the 7-seed, the Heat are the 8-seed, the Bulls are the 9-seed and the Hawks are the 10-seed. The loser of the 7 vs. 8 play-in game will face the winner of the 9 vs. 10 play-in game to determine the No. 8 seed. …

Payton Pritchard was one of 17 players to play in 82 games this season. … Celtics rookie Jordan Walsh made his first career start on Sunday. He finished with just one point on two shots in 17 minutes, but recorded two steals and played sound defense.